I really like Tenyo products. I think most of them are absolutely ingenious. The only reason I don't perform Tenyo items is because of the material and look of most of their products (plastic and colorful). Is there someone at Tenyo or on here who makes custom Tenyo orders out of different materials?

Mahdi, Your question reminded me of something done a few years back on a World Magic Shop episode with Dave and Craig. There's a thread on the Magic Cafe about this (search for "Pimp My Tenyo")- someone had gussied up a Crystal Cleaver to look quite fancy and they had it on the show, I believe. They asked viewers to send examples as well, there might be some in later shows.

(Richard, if I'm out of line mentioning other forums, etc., I apologize; just go ahead and delete this).

There is a company called "Tenyo Elite" that had remade five Tenyo items out of metail or, more lately, wood. They're quite nice but expensive.

Tenyo itself does not seem to have any desire to make high end versions of their props (though they did two brass sets of items in the 1980s, now very rare). For Tenyo, their business is based on meeting a retail price point for the greatest number of their customers: Japanese laymen who buy their tricks in department and toy stores.

The two Tenyo releases in wood, "Zig Zag Cig" and "Ultra Tube" sold out their limited edition first runs of 50 almost immediately.On the other hand, the first two releases, made in aluminum, are still available.

I wish they had made "Match Sticks," the new release in wood, of brass instead.

I never understand why anyone is embarrassed using plastic Tenyo props. I can appreciate someone wanting to make the prop look interesting or different but not just because it's made of plastic. If it's a skill or hobby, that's great! To change the way the prop looks just because it doesn't look like wood or metal is difficult for me to understand.

My point is that you are displaying props which are not ordinary household items but unique and made for the specific purpose of performing a miracle so what difference does it make what it's made of? Is it so difficult for your audience to accept the props as they are? Are your spectators prejudiced against plastic magic props?

This discussion pops up every now and then and everytime it does, I am fascinated. I don't remember anyone saying these things back in the day. They accepted the props for what they were. They did have concerns about quality but, many years ago, that wasn't as big an issue as it is now because magic tricks were made better in many cases.

Of course if you feel that the props look more professional to you if they are made of wood or metal, then fine. But what makes you think that your spectators feel the same way?

Does an audience react differently to Tenyo Zig Zag Cig if it's made of wood instead if plastic?

I think part of the issue is that some of the Tenyo stuff has the name of the effect emblazoned on the prop itself, which makes it look really "proppy". That probably bothers some folks. (I have to admit, I ended up covering up the "Vault Vision" logo on mine).

The printing of the name of the trick on the props is something that Tenyo founder Akira Yamada insisted on once in a while. "Ultra Slice." "Squeeze Play," "Ultra Tube," and a few others suffer from this. But if you're lucky in your searching, you CAN find first runs of these tricks which do not have the name of the trick printed on them. I showed a few of these in the Tenyo book.

Note that the original release of "Vault Vision" has the words "Money Game" printed on it. That makes sense. The ones that have "Vault Vision" printed on them were Milton Bradley Magic Works releases.

Pardon me if this is in the Tenyo book (my copy is not handy where I'm at right now), but is there any difference between the original Tenyo prop and the MB Vault Vision prop in terms of the gaff? When my MB prop has the penny in place, the gaff still sticks out instead of being perfectly flush. Not sure if that's the way it's supposed to be: (the instructions do say "almost flush", but that seems inelegant somehow).

A bunch of the Tenyo-created items were made by Milton Bradley in a factory on Long Island, while others were bought in bulk from Tenyo. You can tell by what it says on the underside of the prop. If it's made in Japan, it has to say so.

If it was made by Tenyo, then it was done using the original mold and works exactly the same way. If not, then it probably doesn't work as well.

The thing is, I remember that kid in the neighborhood who used to return home from the trick shops in center city with a pocket full of those plastic tricks and other tricks he bought and do them for us.

I heard violins! The other kids didn't seem impressed but I thought it was the greatest thing in the world. I wanted to get some of those! That's what started me off and I still have very fond memories of it all to this day. I loved those tricks, whether they were plastic, cards, chains, or whatever. It filled my world with joy that continues to this day.

So, for me and many others I am certain, those props have a very deep seated importance. I enjoy taking out those tricks and playing with them and performing them as much as I did when I was a kid.

Perhaps your spectators may feel the same way as I did (and still do) about those unprofessional pieces of apparatus. There is something to be said about the interest in those props even though they don't present you in a professional way if you know what I mean.

For example, I remember RK talking about the EZ-Magic set of plastic paddles he remembered from his youth and just acquired all these years later. He seemed thrilled to find them and use them! That's what I am talking about! There's a place for them as much as the high end stuff even if it's for different reasons.